BY JONAS TERRADO
PBA commissioner Willie Marcial is pleased with how things have transpired in the few days of the 45th season restart under a bubble setup in Clark, Pampanga.
The PBA has already played four games since the Philippine Cup resumed last Sunday at the Angeles University Foundation Sports and Cultural Center, and Marcial can be only glad the league has already reached this stage following a seven-month hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“So far so good,” Marcial said from his room in Quest Hotel during an online appearance in the weekly Philippine Sportswriters Association Forum.
Since the first batch of the delegation entered the bubble in late-September, the nearly-400 people contingent have been holed up at Quest and AUF, first with practices and eventually the long-awaited return of the games.
TNT beat Alaska (100-95) and Barangay Ginebra San Miguel downed NLEX (102-92) in Sunday’s opener while Phoenix Super LPG ripped Meralco (116-98) and Blackwater stunned NorthPort (96-89) the following day.
San Miguel Beer plays Rain or Shine and TNT faces Terrafirma in Tuesday’s games that is expected to once again see the players show their competitive nature more than ever.
“Akala natin aalalay sila, hindi e. Banggaan ng bangaan e,” said Marcial, who summoned TNT’s Poy Erram and NLEX’s JR Quinahan for their ejections in Sunday’s games.
The games have been received well, drawing more than 100,000 views through the social media accounts of the PBA, television partner One Sports and even world governing body through the Facebook page of the FIBA Asia Champions Cup.
Apart from that, everyone inside the bubble has received negative results of their COVID-19 test which is a good sign that the PBA is following what the NBA has successfully done.
“Nagawa ng NBA, talagang humanga ako sa kanila. Sana magawa namin,” said Marcial.
Marcial is also open to any adjustments that can be made during the course of the bubble, since he feels that the PBA is also learning new things each day.
“Learning stage po talaga ito. Habang naglalaro tayo, nag-aaral din po tayo kung papaano gagawin,” he said.
Magnolia tries to bounce back from its loss to San Miguel in the 45th season opener last March 8 when it goes up against NLEX at 6:45 p.m. Wednesday. Meralco and Alaska meet in the curtainraiser at 4 p.m.
